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Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Brussels to demonstrate against fascism, Wednesday, during a visit from Marine Le Pen to the European Parliament. Activists from the “Jeunes Organisés et Combatifs” and other Belgian organisations took part in the protest.

The crowd walked from the European Parliament to the European Commission, passing in front of the European Council. Marine Le Pen was in Brussels to present the Front National‘s group of 24 MEPs after the 2014 European elections.

By opening its pages to Le Pen, the Times, the crumbling pillar of American liberalism, is signaling that powerful sections of the American ruling class consider her ideas to be a critical part of the public debate. The Times took the added step of including a simultaneous translation in French, ensuring that the column would receive the widest possible distribution in France itself.

Le Pen’s chauvinist arguments in the Times (under the headline “To Call this Threat by Its Name”) are largely drawn from the political arsenal of the US “war on terror.” France, “land of human rights and freedoms, was attacked on its own soil by a totalitarian ideology: Islamic fundamentalism,” she writes.

While providing a political platform for Le Pen, the Times does not bother to inform its readers of her political pedigree. The FN was formed in 1972 by former supporters of the World War II Nazi collaborationist Vichy regime and defenders of French colonial rule in Algeria. It is notorious for its anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic racism, its virulent nationalism, and its thuggish attacks on political opponents.

In justifying their decision to publish Le Pen’s column, the editors of theTimes may argue that whether one likes it or not, Le Pen cannot be ignored. The Times and its apologists will probably claim that by providing her with a platform, she is being given the opportunity to expose herself.

This is nonsense. Le Pen is being deliberately legitimized by the Times, just as French President François Hollande increased her stature and that of the FN by inviting Le Pen to the Elysée Palace shortly after the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

The promotion of Le Pen is part of a broader elevation of fascistic and extreme right-wing organizations internationally. Last year, the United States and Germany worked with the Right Sector and Svoboda—organizations that celebrate the Nazi collaborators in Ukraine during World War II—to overthrow the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych, an operation that was presented across the political establishment as a movement for democracy.

In Germany, as the ruling class moves to cast off all restraints imposed on German militarism following World War II, it is working to downplay and justify the crimes of its past. Jorg Baberowski, a leading historian at Berlin’s Humboldt University, recently argued that “Hitler was not cruel,” comparing his actions favorably to those of Stalin and the Soviet leadership.

In a recent speech, Chancellor Angela Merkel referred to the need for Christians to “strengthen their identity” and “speak even more and with self-confidence about their Christian values”—an encouragement of anti-Muslim sentiment calculated to bolster and legitimize the racist agitation of the right-wing Pegida movement in Germany.

As far as growing sections of the corporate-financial aristocracy are concerned, the voices of neo-fascists must be heard. At the same time that her Times column appeared, Le Pen was featured in a glowing interview with the Wall Street Journal. Pointing to the calculations of the ruling class, theJournal argued, “Once a political outlier, Ms. Le Pen has been gaining prominence as France’s problems—a moribund economy and its un-assimilated Muslim population—have become more acute and seemingly beyond cure by the traditional political class.”

Here the Journal refers to the fact that, under conditions of protracted economic crisis, the political establishment is deeply discredited in France and internationally. In an effort to create support for its rule, the financial elite is seeking to mobilize sections of the petty-bourgeoisie on the basis of extreme nationalism. At the same time, right-wing forces are exploiting the bankruptcy of the “left” to present themselves as an oppositional force.

The logic of developments is following channels traced previously. Contemporary politics assumes more and more the character of the 1930s, when the ruling elites of Europe turned to fascist parties and forces to defend their rule. Today, the promotion of the likes of Le Pen is part of a broader effort to use anti-Muslim racism as a central plank for imperialist operations abroad and a far-reaching assault on democratic rights at home. The ruling classes in France, the United States, Germany, Britain and the other major imperialist powers are plotting and launching new wars in the Middle East and northern Africa.

Together with a vicious campaign against the immigrant population, the ruling class is promoting and legitimizing fascistic and chauvinist movements in order to direct them against the working class as a whole. The basic lesson of the experiences of the 1930s is that the fight against fascism must be waged as a struggle against the capitalist system and all of its political representatives.

After Belgium’s three largest labour federations backed the trade union-organised march, even the police put the attendance at 100,000 and the railways sold 80,000 special half-price tickets.

Key to the high attendance were a two-year wage freeze and the abolition of the link that keeps benefits and public and some private-sector wages in line with inflation.

The march had to begin earlier than planned because so many people had converged on the boulevards around Brussels North station.

Demonstrators paraded peacefully for over two hours down the main thoroughfares of central Brussels to protest against government policies that will raise the pension age, restrain wages and cut into public services.

The unexpectedly massive march opens a month-long campaign by the trade unions against the business-friendly governing coalition and is to be capped with a nationwide strike on December 15.

“This is the biggest demo in a quarter of a century,” said Marc Leemans of the Christian union federation ACV-CSC.

“A lot of people came here at their own initiative. They think it’s necessary.”

Belgium has a long postwar tradition of collective bargaining between employers and workers and successive coalition governments representing a full scale of public opinion often have been able to contain social disagreements.

But the current coalition, comprising three pro-business parties and the Christian Democrats, is the first in decades that has set such a clear anti-working-class and free-market agenda.

Violence erupted towards the end of the march, which Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur blamed on around 200 Antwerp dockworkers, giving police the opportunity to deploy their water cannon.

Anybody opening the print edition of Die Zeit can expect a concentrated dose of war propaganda. The supposedly liberal weekly newspaper exemplifies a development that causes concern and anger for many people: the transformation of the German mainstream media into propaganda instruments for war and militarism. The September 18 issue provides eloquent testimony to this fact: here.

In Brussels, capital territory of Belgium, it is illegal to kill rabbits.

Today, Dutch NOS TV reports that rabbits are said to have eaten flowers in the garden of Belvédère royal palace in Laken, a suburb of Brussels.

The inhabitant of that palace, Albert II, retired king of Belgium, does not like that. He now has managed to get a special permit from the government to kill at most fifty rabbits during the next six months.

The NOS report says (translated):

About how [King Albert II] is supposed to do that, nothing has been disclosed. It is unclear whether the animals will be shot, poisoned or lured into traps.

Dozens of campaigners from My Belly is Mine have taken action against Spain’s anti-abortion draft Bill discussed in the country’s parliament on Friday.

This video from London, England says about itself:

British Spanish Society Reception at Spanish Embassy, London Wednesday 25th of July

On Wednesday the 25th of June, 2014, the Spanish Ambassador in London, Federico Trillo, hosted a reception for the British Spanish Society. We turned up uninvited alongside direct action feminist group Speaking of I.M.E.L.D.A and the Spanish Women’s Assembly from the 15M movement in London. We wanted to remind the ambassador, his guests and passersby that the rights of women are under serious threat in Spain.

The Morning Star article continues:

“Women have fought for their rights with great spirit and determination,” said one of the organisers Jade Hope. “For their rights to now be taken away from them is a disgrace.”

The campaign has emphasised how almost 50,000 women die after unsafe and regulated abortions every year across the globe.

Ms Hope added that abortions should be exclusively a woman’s choice.

“No one else has the right to impact on such a tough decision and the Spanish government thinking they can is to deny human rights,” she said.

JIM JEPPS interviews abortion rights activists Cristina Rios and Mireia Gargallo about feminism and solidarity among migrants in London. CRISTINA RIOS and Mireia Gargallo are both Spanish immigrants living in London, both are political activists working in the My Belly is Mine campaign and they’re also good friends — even though, in many ways, they come from very different places: here.

An estimated 2,000 workers at MRS Fashions, which manufactures garments for global brands such as Macy’s, JC Penney and Walmart, held a mass walk-out last week amid allegations of withheld salaries, unfair deportations, poor working conditions and mistreatment.

The Indian and Bangladeshi employees downed tools on Tuesday after trashing the company’s factory in Hajiyat and have since refused to co-operate with company management and Labour Ministry officials – instead issuing a set of 12 demands, including calls for a pay rise and better food and medical care.

Labour Ministry inspection and labour unions director Ahmed Al Haiki told the GDN that a written warning had now been issued to those on strike, alerting them that legal action would be taken – ultimately leading to deportation – if they did not return to work.

“This strike is illegal and we have issued a warning to the workers,” he said.

“I personally went and spoke to them, but they refused to negotiate and are adamant that they would only go back to work if their demands are met.”

Among the problems hindering negotiations is the fact that the workers are effectively leaderless and refuse to select a front man, Mr Al Haiki said.

“We have asked them to select a leader who can talk on their behalf, as we cannot talk to 2,000 people at the same time,” he said.

…

“They are not co-operating at all and severe action will be taken against those who go against the law.”

…

A representative of the striking employees claimed their current salary was as little as BD55 a month, adding that they were ready to be deported if their demands were not met.

“We have been working here for a long time but no one is listening to our problems,” he told the GDN, on condition of anonymity.

“We are ready to go to jail or be deported back home, rather than work in these conditions,” he added.

No one from MRS Fashions was available for comment when contacted by the GDN yesterday.

BAHRAIN treats migrant workers as badly as other Gulf states despite its superior labour law, human rights watchdogs warned on Tuesday. It is the only country in the region that allows migrant workers to join trade unions. It also allows migrant workers to change jobs while in the country. However, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain director Husain Abdulla said that the law was rarely implemented and that employers found ways to punish workers who wanted to quit by withholding their salaries and passports: here.